rues Look Somewhere Else en, ack Pack Creativity Cards. phone when worn in the sun. (We discuss sts further in Part Three.) nd problem solving, communication and «tivity and innovation are three top-drawer for learning, work, and life in the 21st cen- arning and innovation skills are the knowl- ogies of our times. This leads us to the next aework for learning’s future: the informa- ology digital literacy skills discussed in the Digital Literacy Skills INFO-SAVVY, MEDIA-FLUENT, TECH-TUNED It is no longer enough simply to read and write. Students must also become literate in the understanding of visual images. Our children must learn how to spot a stereotype, isolate a social cliché, and distinguish facts from propaganda, analysis from banter, and important news from coverage. —Emest Boyer, past president, Carnegie Foundation forthe Advancement of Teaching, B fore talking about the most obviously 21st century part of the P21 learning rainbow, the three digital literacy skills, take a moment to consider the sidebar, a fable about an un- lucky kingdom that briefly blundered onto the bleeding edge of history. Whether we're ready or not, the Knowledge Age has arrived, and today’s World Wide Web version of King Wallace’s World ‘Wide Wallis fast becoming a permanent part of our everyday lives. wwe have not yet reached the good king's utopian dream of Learnalot, the Learning Society for all, we certainly have had our share of early experiences with the good, the bad, and the ugly ides of the wide-open communications and unrestricted online commerce and social networking projected in the fable.62 | 24st century skiLLs The Once and Future Kingdom of Learning Ina kingdom long ago, but not too fr away there reigned an extraordinarily farsighted rile, King Wallace, and his wonderfully practical and competent Queen Netti, One stormy night, after a contentious day at court, King Wallace had an unusually vivid dream, He envisioned his kingdom transformed into a beauteously tranguil paradise dedicated tothe glorious pursuit af leaming, where all the worlds knowledge was easily accessible all day every day, inscribed on a myriad of intricate stone wals throughout the lan. The kingdom was called Learnaot [trumpet fanfare}. Ii his dream, King Wallace gazed with amazement upon his loyal sub- jects, young and old, poting over the timeless words and great thoughts of the ages, chseling biliant new ideas, inventions, epic pooms, and songs of ‘great beauty and truth; all on this vast network of walls; halled as the Great Wal of King Wallace. The king watched as the Hard Ware Guild (the masons) furiously mor tefed stone Upon stone to expand the network infrastructure, wi ‘Soft Ware Guild [the plasterers) spread smooth, rewriteable firew: in countless even lines, forming neat rows and tables ready for users to inscribe, online their data upon this base And ths ever increasing monument to technological innovation stretched fat beyond the horizon to the four corners of the firmament, unt ll the countless realms ofthe nown world were connected to the one great World Wide Wa _ Wher moved him almost to tear, though, were the peaceful, contented faces of the people — so happy to dwell n a land where each and every soul | become learned and realize every inborn potenti wif where learning DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS | 63 When he awoke, he found Queen Nettie gazing out the window with a ‘most unbecoming look of hero. “Look my Lord” she gasped, ‘something ful has befallen our kingdom there are walls strewn hither and yon like 2 frightful maze of dragons upon the land. | knew you shouldn't have in- sulted Morelan the Mapcian lastnight!” “Tis just ike my dream, King Wallace muttered as he webbled over to the window. “Yet a dreamt surely is not—itis altogether reall* “Oh, my beloved Queen,” he exclaimed, dramatically swe stretched arm across the panoramic view from the turret window, “behold Leamalot! [trumpet fanfare]—the Noble Kingdom of Learning. And we, my dearest, are the Laudatory Lord and Leading Lady of Learning, the Magnificent Monarchs of immortal Memorabilia, the Paragons of Pedagogical Prodigiousness, the..." ~~~ smelt rouble interrupted Queen Nettie: And down below inthe streets, they witnessed an astonishing unfolding ‘of walledin sights: knights directing their pages to inscribe ousting tourna: tment schedules, nating the adds and where bets could be mat ofthe Upin Arms pub posting advertisements for a two-night, all you-can ink special an entre section ofthe wall devoted to buying, seling, and auctioning everything imaginable all under an enormous “Wall Mar" sign; an entire thoroughfare, “Wall Street” dedicated to betting on the future prices of barley, butter, and beer; and much worse: lurid illustrations that would bring a blush tothe face of any righteous mortal ofthe realm, plus @ hefty subscription fee to fully reveal more unholy images. What a nasty nightmare! Soon there grew an uprising and wall-to-wall demands fora wa ing of the king, led by Sir Ludd (with music’ provided by his mi minstrel band, the Luddites). Their politcal platform rested on “the pro- tection of the young and innacent from Wall Spam, the riddance of Crass Commercialization from the Commons, and the Resurrection of Declining Moral and Common Sense Standards." the owner64 | 24ST CENTURY SKILLS ‘The protestors were saon joined by the Union of Serf Farmers, hose ‘crops were blighted by the shade from “all them bloody w Day and night thousands marched through the shadowed rt maze of ‘each thundering cry: "OF Then one moming, as ‘walls crumbled and vanished peaceful and beauteous than ever before eng We arenotinthe east ead (rhe Learning Society : “Tis time toretuin to yourplans my erento fatver rte fishermen, improved plows or the plowmen, better yeos for the yeomen-— ‘sensible solutions for our people and our times. i “*Pechaps, my dear, one fine day in the far-off Futur, there will come a ime when learnings truly king” 3 “And queen," added Her Highness. All the more reason that our 2st century students need to acquire the skills to appropriately access, evaluate, use, manage, and add to the wealth of information and media they now have at their thumbs and fingertips. With today’s and tomorrow's digital tools, our net generation students will have unprecedented power to amplify their ability to think, learn, communicate, collaborate, and create. Along with all that power comes the need to learn the appropriate skills to handle massive amounts of information, media, and technology. ‘And so we return to the 21st century skill rainbow to consider: DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS | 65 Learning and Figure 4.1. The 21st Century Knowledge-and- Rainbow. + Information literacy + Media literacy + Information and communication technology (ICT) literacy Information Literacy In the 2ist century, everyone's level of information literacy and flu- ency will need to rise. Whether at work, in school, at home, or in the community, there increasing demands on our al + Access information efficiently and effectively + Evaluate information critically and competently + Use information accurately and creatively! In the SARS project, a tremendous amount of medical, sci- entific, sociological, and governmental information had to be66 | east cenruny sites collected, reviewed, compared, analyzed, summarized, and visual- ized for the students’ Web site. The students had to make sure the information was credible, accurate, and reliable. They had to decide which information was most useful and interesting and how to organize and display it to keep their users—students like themselves—engaged. They also had to analyze and deal with ethical issues: In a large-scale viral pandemic like SARS, were the decisions as to who should be informed first the right decisions? How should infor- mation about preventing further spread of the disease be commu- nicated? Would their Web site help people understand the disease better, or could it cause more fear? The SARS students were applying all the component skills of Information Literacy in the P21 framework. Many online resources are available for building information literacy skills (see Appendix A). Some of the best are from the American Association of School Librarians (ASL), who believe that librarians are becoming 21st century “digital directors” cham- pioning the effective use of information technologies in schools (see Appendix A). Their numerous publications and information literacy guides clearly explain such lessons as the importance of primary as opposed to secondary resources in research and how to assess the credibility of online information using corroborating evidence from multiple reliable sources, Accessing, evaluating, applying, and managing information well, and using information sources appropriately and effec- tively, are just some of the skills that define 21st century digital literacy. Understanding how different types of media are used DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS | 67 Students should be able to: ‘Access and evaluate information + Access information efficiently [time] and effectively (sources) + Evaluate information ertically and competently Use and manage information ‘= Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem athand ‘+ Manage the flow of information from a wide variety of sources, ‘+ Apply a fundamental understanding ofthe ethical/egal issues sur- rounding the access and use of information Source: Copyight Partnership for21.st Century Sills Reprinted by permission ofthe Partnership for 21st Century Skis, www. 21stcenturyskils.og to communicate messages, how to choose from the many media choices now available, and how to create effective messages in @ variety of media are also important, ‘We turn to those media-oriented skills next. Media Literacy Surrounded by digital media and media choices, 21st century stu- dents need to understand how to best apply the media resources available for learning, and to use media creation tools to create compelling and effective communication products such as videos, audio podcasts, and Web sites.68 | 24st cenruaY sKiLus According to the Center for Media Literacy, media literacy skills provide “a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and cre- ate messages in a variety of forms, build an understanding of the role of media in society, as well as [develop] the essential skills of inquiry and self-expression.”* “Media literacy” in this context refers to the medium of deliv- ering messages (print, graphics, animation, audio, video, Web sites, and so on), the crafting of the message for a particular medium—the graphic “look and feel” of a Web site, for example, and the impacts the media message has on audiences. As the SARS team members demonstrated, it takes a high level of media lit- eracy to select the right medium for a particular topic; obtain the proper permissions to reuse others’ material; design and create ‘Web pages, graphi selecting the right digital tools for the tasks); and even choose the appropriate communication methods to promote their work to other students. All these skills go into building media literacy. Organizations such as the Center for Media Literacy offer a variety of learning resources on topics ranging from the impact of media on youth smoking habits to the influence of media stars on young people's values, from the history of visual communica- tions to the camera and editing techniques used in documentary videos. (See Appendix A for further resources.) imations, videos, and games (including ICT Literacy Information and communication technologies, or ICTS, are the quintessential tools of the 21st century. As discussed in Chapter DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS | 69 “Media Literacy Skills ‘Students should be able to: Analyze medi * Understand both how and why media messages are constructed, and for what purposes + Examine how individuals interpret messages differently, how values and paints of view are included or excluded and how media can influence beliefs and behaviors | * Apply a fundamental understanding ofthe ethical and legal issues surrounding the access and use of media Create media products + Understand and u ize the most appropriate media creation tools, characteristics and conventions ‘Understand and effectively utilize the most appropriate expressions and interpretations in diverse, multicultural environments ‘Source: Copyight @ Partnership for 21st Century Sls. Reprinted by pemission ofthe Partnership for 21st Century Skil, wi 2tstconturyskls rg ‘Two, the net generation, today’s “digital natives,” are “bathed in from birth, clutching remote controls, computer mice, and cell phones from an early age. But using these tools well for learning is another story. A num- ber of international organizations have been at work for decades to help close the world’s digital learning divides and provide guid- ance on how best to use the expanding toolbox of ICT power tools for learning, International standards for the educational use of technology have been created for students, teachers, and administrators by70 | 24st cenrury sxitts the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and UNESCO?’ and hundreds of organizations around the globe are dedicated to helping integrate ICTs into the daily work of schools, and education systems. Though our tech-tuned 21st century students are often more fluent in the use of technology than their parents or teachers, they will always need guidance in how to best apply these powerful tools to complex learning and creative tasks. ‘Assessing the risks of using personal images and commer- cial music on a social networking Web site such as Facebook or YouTube often requires critical thinking, sound judgment, and an understanding of potential future consequences—consider- ations where students can certainly benefit from some firm adult guidance. As the SARS project students demonstrated, the hard work comes in applying ICT tools effectively to advance your own learning while creating communication products that help others learn about the issue you care about. ‘There are a wide range of ICT literacy resources from many international organizations such as ISTE and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), from national organizations such as Becta (formerly the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency), from numerous ICT hardware and software suppliers, and from a wide variety of learning technol- ogy and education organizations. (See Appendix A for further resources.) The three digital literacy sk literacy—are continually evolving, and they are all essential to information, media, and ICT L DIGITAL LITERACY SkILLS | 71 ICT Literacy Skills Students shouldbe able to Apply technology effectively + Use technology 2s tool o research, organize, evaluate and com ‘municate information + Use digital technologies (computers, PDAs, media players, GPS, etc.) communication/networking tools and social networks appro pritely to access, manage integrate, evaluate and create informa- tionin order to successful function in a knowledge econamy ‘+ Apply a fundamental understanding ofthe ethicaVlegal issues sur rounding the access and use of information technologies Source: Copyright Partnership for21st Century Sls. Reprinted by permission ofthe Partnership fr 21st Century Sis, www2tstconturyskls.rg ‘managing our ever-expanding tool sets of information, media, and communications technologies. These 21st century literacies are also powering the learning of many of the other skills in the P21 framework's rainbow. In the next chapter we look at some of the age-old personal skills—the life and career skills—that are becoming more in demand as technology enhances learning, work, and life in the 2 Ist century.